page_title: Colegio San Carlos
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Colegio San Carlos / History
caption_attribution_description: English: 2011 - Juan Manuel Santos awards Fr. Francis Wehri the "Cruz de Boyacá", the country's highest distinction.
context_page_description: Colegio San Carlos is an all-male, private, bilingual elite school in Bogotá, Colombia. The school has been recognized as one of the sources of many national leaders.
  The school works under the auspice of the local Roman Catholic Benedictine Monasterio de Tibatí, and the Assumption Abbey in Richardton, North Dakota, U.S.A. It enrolls 1,400 students in grades transition through 11th grade which is equivalent to 1st through 12th grades or a combined primary and secondary education in the United States. San Carlos has welcomed students from all creeds and religions: it is not mandatory to be a Catholic to be a San Carlos student. The school has also welcomed people from all walks of life and nationalities, since its inception. However, an IQ test and other intelligence and dexterity examinations are required for students' enrollment in the school.
  San Carlos is named after Saint Charles Borromeo and its motto, Ora et Labora, is based on the teachings of Saint Benedict.
context_section_description: In April 1960, Abbot Ignatius Hunkler received an invitation from Colombian Archbishop Luis Concha Córdoba to establish a boys school in Bogotá. The Abbot in turn invited him to Assumption Abbey in Richardton, North Dakota, in order to present this proposal to the monastic community. He went there, and the monks agreed to accept the task. As a result, monks Lawrence Wagner O.S.B., Frederic Mundt O.S.B., Anselm Ruelle O.S.B. and Adrian Mundt O.S.B., were sent to Puerto Rico in June to learn Spanish. They arrived in Bogotá on August 6, 1960, the same day the city was celebrating its foundation -(it was founded in 1538). They immediately began preparations to run the school. Colegio San Carlos officially opened its doors on February 4, 1961.  Since its inception in the 1960s, the school has been educating future scientists, politicians, doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists, architects and many others to be leaders in their professions and their communities.
  The school's most important principals have been Fr. Sebastian Schmidt O.S.B. (1934-2017) who was rector only for a few years, but remained a strong presence throughout the history of the school as a teacher, staff member and sports coach, and Fr. Francis Wehri O.S.B. who by mid-1966 replaced Schmidt.
  Wehri, also born in 1934, was in charge of leading the school for 49 continuous years. A dedicated musician (proficient in piano and organ), he arrived in Colombia with little knowledge of Spanish, and took the office of rector at 36 years of age. He soon managed to become a permanent reference for excellence in educational standards and academic guidance on a national level. After many years in this tenure he was awarded Colombian honorary citizenship by president Juan Manuel Santos, and in 2011 also received the country's highest distinction: The Cruz de Boyacá. After a short period of illness, Wehri resigned his post as rector, but decided to stay in Colombia and continue residing at the School's monastery. He died in Bogotá on July 30, 2017, and was replaced two years before his death by secular and current rector Juan Fernando Corral Strassman, a 1970s alumnus.
caption: 2011: Juan Manuel Santos awards Fr. Francis Wehri the "Cruz de Boyacá", Colombia's highest distinction.
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